Figurative Sculpture

Andrew’s initial concern appears to be about achieving classical beauty. In each body of work that he produces, all of the visual elements and principles are considered. Strong forms with simple lines that hold the eye, carefully considered proportions that achieve elegance and balance. Even the torn edges and missing limbs in this recent body of work, appear reassuringly familiar, like the eroded and distressed surfaces of antique sculptures, so much so that we initially do not question why they are there.

Inspired by a single sitting with one life model, Andrew’s initial aim was to recreate poses from classic black and white life model photography, but this simple aesthetic ambition has become subsumed in what is now the real subject of his work.

The life model for this collection is a highly successful young ‘care free’ photographic model. Her self-awareness of how a camera can capture her beauty, enabled her to pose with confidence and grace, allowing each muscle and bone in her body to be rendered in every subtle and perfect detail. Andrew’s creative process introduced fractures, faults and abstractions. Only the surface of the skin is captured, parts of the skin are lost or detached. At times we are looking through the figure to the inner surface of the form. The perfectly rendered surface of the flesh is exactly that, a rendering of the part of the person that we see. The torn edges and missing parts tell a more important story of what it is to be human, our fragile existence, our emotional frailty. There is a wisdom and strength to the poses that speaks of an accumulation of experience and knowledge, but the missing parts and broken edges speak of our experiences and our losses on the journey to maturity.